Michael Sean Winters

Distinctly Catholic: The biggest winner of last night's debate was the Democratic Party as a whole: Almost all the candidates delivered their best performances to date, they were in command of the issues and the contrast with the incumbent president was as stark as it could be.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Reflecting on the summer national conservatism conference; Trump's self-dealing is not a route to impeachment; note to candidates on ads

Distinctly Catholic: Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone has been embattled since last year when, on "60 Minutes," his former secretary provided documentation that Malone covered up cases of clergy sex abuse, which he has denied.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Approaches to the environment from Franzen and Francis; Buttigieg talks like a business consultant; 'religion without God' in NYC.

Distinctly Catholic: There is a cabal among right-wing Catholics to undermine or minimize this pope and his teachings, but the church is big, with room enough for all.

Distinctly Catholic: Americans observing the current political mess in the U.K. will be familiar with the incalculable toll it takes on a democracy when the head of government is not trustworthy.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: The limits of religious freedom; Latino voters and abortion; Catholic journalism; reviewer calls Weigel's book "dangerous."

Distinctly Catholic: Commentators have noted that this pope has now appointed 53% of the cardinal electors. But we should be cautious about predicting certain consequences from that.

Distinctly Catholic: I hope that a thousand flowers bloom on the church-labor front. No two institutions are more committed to solidarity in our society than organized labor and the Catholic Church.

Distinctly Catholic: I do not see how we can, as a society, ignore the mixed signals that medically assisted suicide sends.

A twice-weekly roundup of political news and commentary: the peace of Northern Ireland under Brexit; Puerto Rico braces for another hurricane; leave Alaska's forest alone; Mayor Pete Buttigieg should leave high-dollar funders alone, too

Distinctly Catholic: As I was watching this year's G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, it was impossible not to wonder about the long-term damage President Donald Trump is doing to U.S. interests.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Warren's transformation; the purpose of a corporation; white evangelicals' psychological baggage; Australia's Catholic meltdown.

Distinctly Catholic: Anyone who advocates against the ministerial exception must acknowledge that they wish to involve the government in deciding who can and can't be a minister.

Distinctly Catholic: Changes in technology allow groups like LifeSiteNews and Church Militant to spread their divisiveness, so the seeds of schism might sprout more quickly and more comprehensively than before.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: interpreting the Vatican II shift to a global church; Sen. Warren's clumsy speech to Native Americans; Democrats can learn from FDR; unemployment rates examined in key swing states

Distinctly Catholic: The tragedy of abuse is cancerous, and it affects not only the victim, not only other priests who do not abuse children, not only the entire Body of Christ, but it seems obvious to me that the perpetrator is always himself a sad and sick person, to be pitied as much as punished.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: chronicling the violence many women face in Central America; LifeSiteNews finds new ways to trash bishops they don't like; why Warren should distance herself from her core supporters.

Distinctly Catholic: Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, is the lens or filter through which we can best grasp the significance of the other documents promulgated before the council finished its work in 1965.

Distinctly Catholic: Jesuit Fr. Jared Wicks' Investigating Vatican II: Its Theologians, Ecumenical Turn and Biblical Commitment adds hugely to our awareness of what actually transpired at the council, why its significance is so great – and so complicated – and why none should be surprised that we, as a church, are still in the process of receiving its teachings.